MistRipple Speaks- Tales of Heatherclan
by Lady of the Willow
Summary: Short-stories of the Heatherclan Hills, as told by MistRipple: Keeper of tales for Heatherclan. Short-story fanfiction collection. Every Chapter is a new Tale! Mixed genre due to multiple short stories.
1. Chapter 1

Alright, alright young ones. I need you to calm down, these old ears aren't what they use to be you know.

There, that's much better, don't you think? My name is MistRipple, and I am keeper of tales for Heatherclan.

*chuckles* Yes, Briarkit, I am very old. Much older than I feel, and these are hardly the stories your mother tells you before you drift to sleep. These are stories that have been told throughout the entire history of Heatherclan, and they're very special.

I suppose you could call them 'secrets', though I'm not sure what interest Dreamclan would have in the ramblings of an elder like myself.

Trust me, Scorchpaw, I am perfectly qualified to tell you these stories.

..oh-HO, SilverLeaf thinks that of me does she?

Remind my old..barmy..memory: SilverLeaf, she is the one who is scared of beetles, yes?

Alright, ALRIGHT, moving along then. If you young ones want me to tell you some tales you have to sit . down .

Very good.


	2. The Oak Blossom

Every Heatherclan cat knows of the oak blossom that blooms down by the pond, at the base of the grand oak tree. It is a very special flower, the only kind of its like in all the territories, in fact! It is truly one of the marvelous wonders of the Heatherclan hills!

Honeypaw, you are the medicine cat apprentice, what has LilacFeather taught you about the petals of the Oak Blossom?

...That's correct, dear one. The Oak Blossom unfurls it's pearl-hued petals only when Silverpelt can be seen without strain in the night sky. Seems odd, don't you think? All other ferns and flowers spread their faces to the sun at high noon, yet the Oak Blossom chooses to do otherwise. Stubborn flower, if you ask me. But Special, none the less.

Why is that? Well, If I have captured your attention Aspenpaw- yes, I see you lurking in the brambles- I will gladly tell you my sister's tale.

We were five moons old at the time, nearly old enough to become apprentices- How long ago that seems now. It was a normal day as any when visitors intruded upon our camp: Spiritkit and myself were tossing a sparrow back and forth between us, ignoring the disapproving glances we earned from other queens who stood by our mother, Leafshine. As sure as Starclan rules the skies, and true to this very day, I believe my Mother was the most elegant cat I have ever known. Like Her, Spiritkit had a lovely cream and tabby-orange pelt, if you sat them side-by-side Spirit-kit was a mirror image of Leafshine, something I was always jealous of.

We had been playing all morning, the air was filled with dust as we ran mock, dodging under cat's paws as they tried to make their way across camp. No one ever thought to correct us or tell us to settle down, it was a pleasant day, the sort of day you would think nothing could go wrong.

Until three Dreamclan warriors found their way into our home. They were being escorted by two of our elder warriors, sadly, in my age I have forgotten their names. Our leader at the time, a large and commanding tom-cat, Whitestar met them right in the camp-center, where the whole of Heatherclan could be their peers.

One of the Dreamclan cats greeted Whitestar, the other two warriors behind him following suit.

"Nettlefang," Our leader replied "What brings you to Heatherclan, my friend."

...Briarkit, who is the one telling the story?...yes, well, at the time politeness among the two clans was hardly unusual. This was long before the transpired events that tore relations between us apart.

Ahem,

The Brown tom Whitestar had referred to as 'Nettlefang' suddenly turned his gaze towards the nursery, and those amber eyes rested solely upon my sister and I.

"Leafshine's kits." He mewed firmly, his voice carried upon the wind, drifting into the surrounding dens of our clanmates, until all but a few elders then stood in our clearing.

"What about them?" Whitestar prompted.

Silence, so harsh it lingered in the air before Nettflefang spoke again. And when he did, even the winds of the Heatherclan hills stilled for more than a heartbeat.

"They are half Dreamclan."

...Oh for Starclan's sake! How many times must I indulge these interruptions?! It is very unbecoming of young warriors to be so rude to their elders, you know. Good. Now, if we can continue without any further interruptions perhaps I can actually tell the story...

I, having just wrung the sparrow from my sister's grasp, dropped it into the settling dust. I couldn't bring myself to remove my eyes from the sight before me: and I watched as Leafshine, my mother, a Heatherclan cat by birth, stormed her way up to these newcomers, past the gathered throng of cats, disregarding Whitestar entirely, stood nearly towering over this Nettlefang. Much was her way. let's just say the other two dreamclan warriors were wise enough to take a few steps back.

"That-" she began "is the most mouse-brained, insolent, FOXDU-"

alright, so she wasn't so elegant when she was angry- like snow in leafbare.

Needless to say, Whitestar promptly cut her words short. "There IS-" he mewed calmly "a simpler way to resolve such a claim."

A growl of annoyance laid low in Leafshine's throat as our leader continued.

"Leafshine, you chose, well within your right, to conceal the identity of Mistkit and Spiritkit's father. In this instance, I advise you to disclose his name. Simple honesty is all I ask."

My mother, with her elegance and graceful tact with words, was nothing if not an honest she-cat, that much I know. She almost was able to dispute before Nettlefang tore through her plea:

"Smokehaze is dead, Leafshine."

I saw mother's stance go stiff, watched her eyes widen as she fought the sorrow rising in her voice.

"...D-dead?" She mewed.

Whitestar closed his marble eyes and hung his head. Spiritkit and I exchanged an awestruck glance to one another.

It was true...we were half-clan.

TO BE CONTINUED...


End file.
